9 Crimes
by IWillWaitForYou
Summary: 14 year old Cassandra Grace wants to be emancipated after living her whole life going through foster families. She sets out to find her birth parents to get their signatures but gets more than she bargained for. I suck at summaries but this is going to be a great story Rated T for mild language and some mature subject manner.
1. Play By The Rules

Summary: 14 year old Cassandra Grace wants to be emancipated after living her whole life going through foster families. She sets out to find her birth parents to get their signatures but gets more than she bargained for. I suck at summaries but this is going to be a great story Rated T for mild language and some mature subject manner. A 9-shot!

Disclaimer: All I own is Gracie, Shonda Rhimes is the genius behind Grey's! :D

Author's Note: Got the main idea of the story from the show Life Unexpected but threw a Grey's twist on it :D. I'm hoping to get some feedback (Positive and or Negative) so please review. Anyway, enjoy!

9 Crimes Chapter 1

Gracie POV

I'm so sick and tired of being bounced around from foster home to foster home. Everyone treats me like I'm a child but I'm anything but. I've practically taken care of myself since day one. I've been told if I get the emancipation papers sign, I practically become a legal adult but I've also been told a judge might not allow me to because I'm 14 and it's highly unlikely that he would grant me emancipation. I don't care though, I'd rather try and fail then live in this hell hole knowing I never did anything to try and improve my situation. I've been told that my parents were just not ready for a baby. They were both still in school and couldn't handle the stress of a baby. I've done my research in order to find my birth father. His name is Derek Shepherd and he is a surgeon in Seattle. I've not had much luck finding my mother but I'm sure Derek can tell me how to find her. Who knows, maybe they are still together. I had been saving up money for this day. Every little bit of pity money a foster parent would give me and any money I might have happened to slip out of my foster mother's purse or foster father's wallet. I didn't mean to cause trouble but I've dreamt of this day my whole life. The day I can be on my own and not worry about being placed in a crappy group home. The plane ticket from New York to Seattle had cost me 400 dollars which left me with only 75 dollars which I prayed would give me enough money for a cab to the hospital my father worked at. I saw the flashing light signaling me to put my seat belt on. There's no turning back now. I'm landing in Seattle with not enough money to take me back to New York. It's now or never.

As I got off the plane and made my way through the airport I sighed to see the rain pouring down. I hadn't packed a bag so all I had on were jeans and an old long sleeve t-shirt. Yeah being a foster kid sucks all around even to the point of the cheap Wal-Mart brand of clothes. I made my way outside into the cool Seattle breeze and searched for a taxi luckily finding one close by. I walked over to it and got in.

"Where ya headed kid?" The raspy old man asked.

I pulled out my notebook which I had put all the information I had found about my father and glanced at the hospital name. "Seattle Grace Hospital please." I answered quietly. I'm not the most outgoing person; in fact I'm quite shy.

"That would normally be about 50 dollars but since you seem to really need a ride I'll take 25." He could really tell I was a needy kid? Great.

"Thank you sir that's very kind."

The long ride was spent in silence. He attempted to strike up conversation a few times but failed miserably as I quietly stared out at the rain hitting the window. It wasn't that late but the weather made it seem almost night like. I felt the awkwardness of the car ride but also my own fear. I could taste the gloomy Seattle air even in the cab. I could hear the rain pouring on the top of the cab causing more depression on to me. I could see the city and the space needle. I had always dreamt of seeing it one day.

I was very glad when the cab pulled up in front of the hospital entrance. "Where ever your coming' here for kid, good luck." The man said.

"Thank you." I said.

I opened the door and hurriedly made my way under the awning to try and stay dry. My curly blonde locks of hair were drenched but at least my clothes had stayed somewhat dry. I looked up at the door for a few minutes before finally bringing myself to approach the automatic sliding doors. They opened and I hesitantly entered. It felt nice to be in a warm building. The hospital atmosphere was tense and exhilarating. Busy doctors and nurses were running through the different hallways. I wasn't sure how to find my father once I got here. I hadn't worked that part out quite yet. I saw a desk with a sign that read information and decided they would at least give me some guidance to where my father is.

I approached the nurses that looked busy typing on computers. "Excuse me." I said quietly. No one seemed to be phased by my appearance. "Excuse me." I tried a bit louder.

A nurse with curly red hair looked up at me. "May I help you?" she asked me.

"Yes, I'm looking for Dr. Derek Shepherd." I said.

"Do you have an appointment?"She inquired.

"Not exactly" I told her "I'm family." I just hope I looked enough like him to have a believable story.

"Of course you are. Those blue eyes must be all around that family. I'll page him for you." She told me.

"Thank you mam." I said.

She dialed a number on the phone. I was sort of hoping for a private confrontation. "What did you say your name was dear?" She asked me.

"Gracie."

"My name is Katie. Dr. Shepherd should be here soon, in the meantime, make yourself comfortable. There are some chairs over there if you would like to sit."

"Thank you." I made my way over to the chairs and literally collapsed into one of them. The journey here had been long and I hadn't rested in over 2 days. I waited for about 10 minutes before a man in navy blue scrubs and a white lab coat approached me. As I looked in his eyes I recognized what the nurse meant. This had to be Dr. Shepherd.

"Were you the one who had me paged? I was told you were a family member but I don't recall meeting you." He seemed slightly irritated.

"I, I am. I'm sorry you don't know me but I am family."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"My name is Cassidy Grace and I'm your daughter." I told him.

"I don't have any children." He contradicted.

"You and some person had a kid 14 years ago, I am that kid. I don't want your money or anything I just need you to sign these papers." I told him handing him the emancipation papers.

He looked over them for a few minutes. "Emancipation papers? How do I even know you're my daughter?"

"Here, these are my files, I stole them from my social worker." I handed him the file.

He looked at me for a few minutes before signing the papers. "Why do you want to be emancipated?" He asked me.

"I've taken care of myself for years; I'd like to legally be allowed to do it." I told him. "I do have one more thing to ask you and then I'll be out of your hair." I said.

"And what would that be?" He questioned.

"The file didn't have my mother's name or anything about her really. Who is my mother?"

"Her name is Addison Montgomery. She lives in Los Angeles. Look if you need me too, I can take you to her. Or you could stay with me tonight if you need somewhere to stay." He was sympathetic now. I guess leaving your kid can do that to you.

"Actually, that would help a lot. I only have 50 dollars left from the plane ride and taxi I had to take to get here." I probably came off as rude but I'm very hungry and extraordinarily tired.

"Do you want to get something to eat and then maybe get you into some dry clothes?" maybe he really did care about my well being to some extent.

"Yes please." I answered.

He led me to the cafeteria and bought me some soup and a sandwich. "So Cassidy…" He started.

"It's actually Gracie." I told him.

"Ok, so Grace, what do you like to do?" He asked.

Small talk? Really? "I mean I don't do much. The foster parents take us to school and get us right after. I'll read sometimes." I decided to flatter him.

"What do you like in school?" He asked me.

"Well biology is really cool. Math and English are pretty fun as well." I was trying to act polite and happy.

"Any favorite books?" He asked.

So the small talk was really getting on my nerves now. "I like Shakespeare and other classics. Modern day, I like the book Willow." I answered. The real reason I liked Willow is because I relate to her. The cutting I mean. It's just what I do when I get stressed and I'm not addicted or anything.

"You have some good taste there." He told me.

"Thanks. So what exactly do you do? All it said was you're a surgeon." I might as well make him like me.

"I'm a neurological surgeon, actually, I'm chief of that department, so I work on brains." He told me.

That actually is really cool. I've wanted to be a doctor all my life especially one that works on brains. "That's so cool. I've always wanted to be a brain doctor." I told him.

"I guess it is in your genes. Your mother, Addison is a surgeon too. She is a neonatal surgeon and also an OBGYN." He told me.

"So, umm, I've always wondered this and I guess it's ok to ask you. I don't know maybe not." He could probably feel my nerves.

"Hey, you can ask me anything. I owe you that much." He said taking my hand. It was frightening yet endearing at the same time.

"Why didn't you keep me?" I asked.

He looked at me for what seemed like an eternity before he answered. "We were surgical residents. It wasn't a life we wanted for you. We worked long shifts and weren't home for days. We were under the impression that you would be adopted." He told me.

"Well I wasn't." I said as I looked down avoiding eye contact.

"I'm sorry. If we had known…" He began.

I don't know what about that made me snap. "What!? If you had known I would've still been placed in the foster system!" I shouted drawing a few people's attention.

"I'm sorry." He said again.

"Whatever, what's done is done." I said taking the last bite of my sandwich. "Can we go now?" I asked.

"Of course." I followed him to a lounge labeled for attending. He handed me some scrub pants and a hoodie from Columbia.

"This should keep you a little bit warmer. I'll give you some privacy. There's a bathroom through that door." He told me as he left me alone. I quickly changed into the clothes throwing my messy curly blonde hair into a messy bun. I looked into the mirror and quickly understood why the taxi driver suspected I needed to be in the hospital. I had 2 day old makeup running down my face and looked extremely pale. My eyes were puffy from being so tired but looked like I had been crying. I splashed my face with water before making my way outside to Derek who was talking quietly to some dark haired nurse. I approached him and he turned to look at me. "Gracie, this is Rose. I was just telling her I'm going to take a few days off so I can accompany you to LA."

"Hi." I told her.

"Well we should get going. You ready?" He asked me.

"Yeah ok." I said.

I followed him to his car and got in the front seat. I decided to close my eyes for a few minutes and get some much needed rest.

I was surprised to wake up to the sound of birds chirping. I rubbed my eyes and looked around recognizing I was in a tiny trailer. I was in the bed and Derek was on the floor covered in a blanket. I looked at the clock which read 11:30 AM. I had slept for basically a day. If Derek is a surgeon why the hell is he living in a trailer? I mean don't surgeons have money? My stomach growled and I sighed. I guess I could find something around here to eat. I got out of the rather comfortable bed and began to rummage through his cabinets. I found some peanut butter crunch and carefully poured some into a bowl covering it in milk. I sat at the small table and ate which happened to wake up Derek.

"Good morning." He said to me.

"Why are you living in a trailer?" I blurted out. "Aren't surgeons supposed to have money?"

He laughed. "I own this land. I plan to build a house but for now I'm living in my trailer. I see you've found my kitchen." He laughed.

"Sorry, I was hungry." I told him.

"It's no problem. So I booked us a flight to LA for this evening." He said.

"Does Addison know we are coming?" I asked.

"I thought a surprise visit would be best." He told me.

"And why is that?" I questioned.

"Well let's just say she'd be less likely to freak out in front of a child."

I snapped my head towards him. "I'm NOT a child!" I told him.

He put his hands up in surrender. "Sorry I didn't mean to offend you." He said.

"No I'm sorry. It's just that I've taken care of myself for long enough to not be a child. The last time I was a child I was 6." I decided to leave off the fact that that is when I stopped receiving food and had to learn how to cook. Easy Mac was my usual meal. I also left off that's the first time I was slapped for playing outside. Apparently my foster dad didn't like that.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter. Look I know you've already given me enough but is there any way you could find me some clothes and let me take a shower?" I asked.

"I'm one step ahead of you. Rose dropped off some clothes for you last night."

"Is Rose your girlfriend?" I questioned.

"Something like that."

"Where's the shower?" I asked.

"It's the door by the bed. You probably want to let it warm up a bit before you get in." He advised.

"Thanks." I got up and went over to the bed. I turned on the hot water in the shower before looking at the clothes Rose had brought me. It was a pretty cute outfit actually. Jeans and a long sleeve Abercrombie t-shirt. She'd also gone so far as to put some warm furry boots in the mix. I placed the clothes in the small bathroom closing the door. I slipped my clothes off and let the warm water run over my body and through my hair. It felt nice to take a shower. My hair when it is wet runs almost to my waist. I ran the shampoo through my curls cursing the genes that made me get this tangly mess I call hair. Once I was clean I got out and dressed. The clothes were a little big but most of the time they are. I'm fairly small for my age and still where youth size clothes so most of the clothes that are age appropriate are too big. I pulled on the boots and attempted to dry my hair with a towel. I finished my look with my father's oversized Columbia hoodie that I decided to permanently take.

I left the bathroom and sat by my father at the table. This is one of those times I wish there was a TV nearby so I could avoid the awkward small talk. "So…" He said.

"So." I replied.

"How about we listen to some music?" He asked.

"Got any Coldplay?" I asked.

"They're one of my favorite bands."

"Mine too." I smiled at him.

Maybe we were finding something to bond over. He put the CD in and my favorite song, Yellow, began playing. We both started singing along trying to out-sing each other causing us both to laugh. I couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if he had kept me. Maybe I could've been happy. Maybe things could have been nice.

Before I knew it, Derek and I were on a flight about to land in LA. It had been a rather awkward flight since neither Derek nor I knew what to say so most of the flight had been spent in silence. Once the plane landed we made our way to the rental car place. It was hot in LA and very sunny. It was like the anti-Seattle. Derek decided to go flashy and rented a cherry red Porsche. Oh the irony. He lives in a trailer yet can afford a Porsche. "So does she work at a hospital too?" I asked.

"Not exactly. She's in a private practice with some of her friends called Ocean Side Wellness but she does surgery at a local hospital."

"Oh so she like doesn't only do surgeries?"

"No. An OBGYN deals with women. She's like a regular doctor that can do procedures but then she went back and got board certified in order to be a neonatal surgeon. That means she can operate on babies before and after they are born."

"Oh, that's cool."

"Yeah it's a pretty interesting specialty."

"So, what made you want to be a doctor?" I asked trying to figure out something to ease up the awkward silence.

"It's a long story." He explained.

"It's a long car ride." I contradicted.

He sighed in defeat and began to tell me. "When I was younger, my father owned a store. One day, my sister and I were at work with him when someone broke in and was trying to rob him. My father willingly gave up all the money but the robbers asked for the watch my mother had saved up for years to buy him for their anniversary. He wouldn't give it to them so they shot him. I held my sister and made her stay quiet until they left and then I helplessly went over to my father. He was dead. I decided that I wanted to help people and then I loved my science classes so everything fell in place."

"I'm sorry about your father." I told him suddenly feeling sympathy for him.

"It was hard for a long time but since the years have passed I've learned how to cope. I'll always miss him but moving on has made things easier." He spoke with sadness evident in his voice but I could tell his wounds had healed.

"How old were you when it happened?" I asked him trying to hide my own sadness. One of my somewhat annoying qualities is having too much sympathy and literally feeling others pain.

"I was your age. 14. Amy was only about 6."

"Amy? Is that your sister?" I asked.

"One of them at least."

"You have more than one?" I asked.

"I have four. Kathleen is the oldest, then Nancy, then Lizzie, then me, and then there's Amy." He said happily.

"Do you like your family?" I asked.

"Well I mean we have our disagreements but for the most part yes."

"What about your mother."

"My mom is wonderful. You'd love her." That raised more questions in my head. If I hadn't been given up could I have had a grandmother? Something I had always dreamed of?

I decided to change the topic so I wouldn't get upset about the life I could have had. "LA is a lot warmer and sunnier." I said.

"Was that your first time in Seattle?" He asked.

"That was my first time out of New York." I admitted.

"Well Seattle is almost always rainy but when it's not, it's beautiful. The rain makes everything so green so on the rare occasion it's sunny it's beautiful." He smiled and I could tell he loved Seattle.

"Is that why you moved from New York? For the beauty of Seattle?"

"Not exactly. Your mother and I didn't get along very well. I had a wonderful job offer in Seattle that's why I moved there."

"Why didn't you get along with her?" I asked.

"It's complicated." He told me.

"I'm sure I can keep up." I contradicted.

"Well we got married young which was our first mistake but we were so in love. The next mistake was me getting too involved in my work. She wanted me and needed me and when you need someone enough you do drastic things to get that person's attention." He explained.

"What'd she do?" I asked.

"Maybe I should let her tell you that." He stated.

"What did she cheat on you?" I joked. Seeing Derek's serious look made me realize he didn't find it funny. "She cheated on you?!" I sternly asked.

"Just realize she wasn't the only person with wrongs." He told me.

"She cheated. All you did was get too involved in your work."

"We were having problems and I technically cheated too so don't blame her for any of this and don't hate her before you meet her."

"I don't hate her." I replied. That was true. I don't hate her. I don't even know the woman and I already love her. I mean she gave birth to me. But then again maybe I should hate her. Maybe I should hate Derek. I mean they gave me up for God's sake. Why do I care about them? All I came here for was for their signatures.

"Well here we are." He said as he pulled into a parking lot. We walked through the doors of a brick building and I followed him to the elevator. We got in and he poked the 5 button. I suddenly got nervous.

"What if she doesn't like me? What if she won't sign the papers? What if she sends me back?" I said nervously with fear evident in my voice.

He placed his hand on my shoulder. Again I felt the endearing feeling I had in the cafeteria when he grabbed my hand. "She'll like you. You're her daughter for God's sake. And send you back? Send you back where?" He asked.

"Never mind that doesn't matter."

"I think it does." He argued.

Could I really tell him about Richard and Bethany? Richard said he'd hurt Bethany if I ever told anyone about anything to do with them. Then again he probably already hurt Bethany since I did run away. I heard the ring of the bell to signal we were at the right floor. Saved by the bell.

"Maybe later because we're here." I said happily. I mean it got me out of telling him.

"Follow me and don't make a scene. Addison wouldn't like that." He quietly told me. He approached the front desk but stopped dead in his tracks when he made eye contact with a woman that looked almost identical to him. "Amy?" He asked.

Amy? As in his sister Amy? "Derek what are you doing here?" She asked him.

"I should be asking you the same question." He answered.

"I work here." She told him.

"Since when?" He questioned.

"Since a few weeks ago." She told him sounding slightly irritated.

"What about Hopkins?" Derek asked.

"It didn't work out." She answered. "Anyway, who is this?" She asked gesturing to me. "I mean Nancy said Meredith was young but I mean how old is she really? 12." She snorted.

"This isn't Meredith. This is Gracie my…" he started.

"His daughter." I finished holding my hand out to Amy. "Cassidy Grace Shepherd, nice to meet you." I said as she took my hand in hers.

"Daughter? What?" She asked astonished.

"Yes my daughter." Derek answered through gritted teeth. "Where's Addison?" He asked. He gave me a death glare and I quickly realized why. I saw many sets of eyes on us. I had caused a scene. My bad.

"I'll take you to her. I think I'm going to want to hear this."

Derek rolled his eyes as we followed Amy through a hallway and to a door marked Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery. Amelia knocked and then went in with us close behind. "Addison." Derek said.

"Derek what are you doing here? Who is this?" She asked. Her voice was beautiful just like I had always dreamed my mother would sound like.

"Addison, this is our daughter. Gracie." Derek said.

She looked at me for a moment. I began having the familiar feeling in me. The one I always got before I had an episode. Before I began seizing, then, everything went black.

Derek POV

"Addison, this is our daughter. Gracie." I told her.

Addison began analyzing Gracie just like I had. That's when things went haywire. Gracie fell to the floor and started seizing. It took us all a few seconds to snap out of the shock we all experienced. I quickly grabbed her and turned her on her side. Amy got checked her pupils. "What the hell?" Addison asked as she too dropped to her knees beside us.

"We need some help in here!" Amy called out the door. Sam, a long time friend of mine ran towards us to help. Just as we were about to call for medicine, the seizure stopped and Gracie opened her big blue eyes.

"Gracie, are you ok?" I asked.

"Sorry I forgot to pack my medicine." She said trying to sit up.

"What medicine?" Amy asked.

"I'm epileptic. That's why no one wanted me. No one wants a pre-damaged baby." She told us.

I felt a little jab in the heart. I felt guilty since the moment I met her. Addison and I really thought that it was best to give her up.

"We'll get you some medicine while you're here." Addison said to her.

I saw Gracie look into Addison's eyes and then literally felt the different emotions I could see on her face. Joy, sadness, and fear. She started crying and Addison crouched down to her level taking her in her arms. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be crying it's just I've dreamt of meeting you my whole life." She said.

"Shh, no need to apologize." Addison comforted. She helped her up and onto the couch. I wasn't really sure what to do or how to comfort her so I just sat down beside her and put a hand on her back.

In the little time I had known this girl I already felt like her father. I would never let anything hurt her.

Crime 1: Running Away


	2. Listen

AN: Sorry this took awhile, my brother decided he would take my laptop to college with him well technically he didn't take it, we have the same one and he grabbed mine by mistake. Anyway, I'm loving the reviews! Keep them coming and you will get more chapters! So, by the way, I'd like to apologize for the choppiness of the last chapter. I made the mistake of not reading it before posting it and realized that things really didn't flow together. I'll try and make this one better and hopefully the length and content will make up for the last chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Listen

"_All parents damage their children. It cannot be helped. Youth, like pristine glass, absorbs the prints of its handlers. Some parents smudge, others crack, a few shatter childhoods completely into jagged little pieces, beyond repair."  
― __Mitch Albom__, __The Five People You Meet in Heaven_

Gracie POV

Addison had hesitantly agreed to sign my emancipation papers after much convincing. My court date is in a few hours and Addison and Derek insisted on being here for it for moral support or something. My foster parents hadn't even noticed I was missing. I guess it has to do with the fact they were too busy being drunk to care. When I got back they thought I had just come home from a day at school. Derek and Addison had paid for us to fly first class which was a pretty cool experience. People treated you like royalty which I must say; I could totally get used to. I'm excited to get emancipated. I would finally be able to live without the constant fear of being hurt by yet another set of so called "parents".

I'm a little bit nervous about going to court. I mean what if the judge doesn't grant me emancipation, then what? I just go back to living with foster parent after foster parent? My social worker should be here soon to pick me up and drive me to the courthouse so I guess there's no getting out of this now. I looked at the outfit I had picked for this day. My social worker said it was important to look professional in order to seem more mature. I chose a red Ralph Lauren dress that was made for young adults not teens and looks quite professional if I do say so myself. I had saved for a long time to be able to afford it but if it means being granted emancipation it will be worth it. I accompanied it with some red heels, a red purse, and some make up that was probably to mature for my age but it did make me seem older. I had some Wal-Mart jewelry on that matched but I did have one piece of expensive jewelry on. The white gold heart necklace that I know now Addison had left with me. I had been told my birth mother wanted to give me something to remember her with. I hadn't mentioned to her that I still had it let alone wear it. It's the one thing I never take off not even when I sleep. There was one time I considered selling it. I needed money and went to see how much it was worth. That's when I learned the true value of it. A 14K white gold diamond heart necklace worth 2000 dollars. Something stopped me from selling it though. I think it's because I secretly did want to have a mother and this was a piece of mine I could keep even if I never got to know her.

I heard a knock on the door and quickly made my way to greet my social worker. I opened the door and she smiled at me. She is a nice lady but can get on my nerves. "Why hello, you look nice." She said in a voice like she was talking to a little kid.

"Thanks Ms. G." She insisted we call her that. She says it makes her feel young.

I got into her car and avoided conversation as she drove us to the courthouse. I looked out the window on the cold New York day. There were flurries of snow falling and you could see the busy people on the sidewalks. My foster home was a small apartment in the city so we were pretty close to everything. The constant noise in the city kept me up all night most nights but I had become accustom to it. We pulled in front of the large building and together walked inside. We sat on a bench for a while before our case number was called. I felt butterflies in my stomach as I hesitantly walked inside.

I looked around the courtroom. There were a few people here but the only ones I recognized were Derek and Addison sitting together. I sat at the table awaiting the judge to arrive.

"All rise for the honorary judge McCarthy." The bailiff said. Everyone stood and the nerves really began to sit in.

The judge took her place and everyone sat back down. "Cassidy Grace Shepherd, please step forward." She said to me. I moved from my seat and stood in front of her. "Let me get this straight, you are just barely 14 years old?" She asked.

"Yes your honor." I answered nervously but respectfully.

"And you do realize the legal age for emancipation in the state of New York is 16 right?" She questioned.

"Yes your honor but I was told with a judge's approval, there can be exceptions to that law." I stated quite matter-of-factly.

"I see you've been in 7 different foster homes and 2 group homes." She said.

"Yes your honor but that's not really my fault." I answered.

"Then whose fault is it? Surely not the different families who tried to take you in." She told me. I suddenly realized this was going to be more difficult than I had originally thought.

"No, I wanted a good home the state of New York just hasn't provided me with one." I answered.

"So you have no permanent place of residence as of today?" She asked.

"Well, as soon as my petition is granted theirs an apartment close to my school."

"You're going to afford an apartment? On what income?"

"I have some money in the bank and I plan on getting a job."

"And who is going to sign your rental agreement?"

"Well that's the whole point of the petition, so I won't need someone to cosign."

"No landlord will rent to a minor…" The judge began but was interrupted.

"I'll cosign your honor." I heard both Addison and Derek say.

"And who are these people?" She asked me.

"These are my birth parents." I stated.

"Let me see the case file." The judge ordered as a person stepped forward handing her my file. I could hear Addison and Derek whispering to each other but I couldn't quite make out the words they were saying. "You two are both surgeons?" She asked them. Ok what was going on? I mean why does that matter?

"Yes your honor." They answered.

"No criminal record and each of you are in possession of a working vehicle." She continued.

I couldn't contain my curiosity anymore. "What's going on?" I asked.

"I am going to be very straight with you. I'm not granting you emancipation." What the hell? "You have no income, you have no permanent residence, and you filed a fee waiver to cover your court cost. Now, Addison and Derek are still your legal parents…"

"Actually they're not. I had that paper signed." I interrupted.

"Those papers were neither witnessed nor notarized so as long as no one here has an objection, I'm releasing you back into the temporary custody of Addison Forbes Montgomery and Derek Christopher Shepherd. Now, you two will have to stay in the state of New York unless you formally adopt Cassidy Grace. Case is dismissed." The judge finished hitting the gavel.

Ok what the hell just happened? That defiantly did not get me emancipated. Actually that just did the opposite. I stood in shock as Derek and Addison approached me. I decided to break the silence. "Well that was the opposite of being emancipated."

"You know this is your fault." Derek said to Addison.

"MY fault?" She asked astonished.

"Yes YOUR fault. If you had just let me cosign and not offered to as well this would've never happened."

"You know what; let's just not blame each other ok? We have things we need to work out. Like the living situation." Addison said.

"I'd like to live at the house in the Hamptons if we must stay in New York." Derek said.

"The brownstone is much more convenient and close to the practice that we both have positions waiting for us at." Addison argued.

"Yes but the brownstone is also where I walked in on you cheating on me with my best friend. I'm not sure if I can ever sleep in that bed again." Derek said angrily.

"Yes but didn't we sort of give that to Nancy in place of her smaller house in the Hamptons?" She asked.

"We'll stop by and get the keys. Or she might trade again who knows. Bottom line is that I am NOT living in that brownstone!" Derek harshly reinforced.

"Where do you expect us to work?" Addison argued.

"Ok, I'll compromise. We can drive into the city to work since you are so keen on working at that specific practice and we can keep the brownstone so if we are on call we can stay there."

"You realize that is a 2 hour drive every day?" Addison asked.

"I don't care. We can buy a NEW brownstone in the city if it means me not having to live in that brownstone. In the mean time, why don't we just stay at Nancy's until we find a place? She just has the four kids and has plenty of room. Plus, Sadie is about Grace's age it could be fun." Derek said.

Didn't I get a say in any of this? Judging by the sound of this I'd say no. "Call Nancy and explain things to her and see if she says yes. Meanwhile, I think I'll take Gracie shopping."

"We're trying to decide on where to live and you want to go shopping?" Derek asked almost shocked.

"Yes Derek because our daughter needs clothes. Do you have a problem with us going shopping to get the basic necessities of a teenage girl? Would you like to go with us?" Addison asked.

"I think that I'll leave you two to your shopping. I'll go to Shepherdson Affinity, get the keys from Nancy and tell them we are coming back to the practice. I'll see you at the house." Derek said defeated.

Addison clapped her hands together happily causing me to suppress a smile. I got in Addison's car with her and decided to ask what on earth Shepherdson Affinity is. "Addison?" I asked hesitantly.

"Hmm?" She asked backing up.

"What is Shepherdson Affinity?" I questioned.

"It's the practice that Derek and I worked at." She answered.

"Ok, so I get the Shepherd part but why Shepherdson?"

"It comes from Derek's sisters' last names, Kathleen Holden, Nancy Johnson, and Lizzie Monroe." She answered.

"What about the Monroe part?" I asked.

"Lizzie wasn't married when we formed the practice." She answered.

"Does Derek have any nephews or nieces? I heard him mention that one that's my age. Oh what's her name? Sadie?" I asked.

"Yes Sadie is her name. That's Nancy's oldest daughter. Nancy has 3 girls and 1 boy, Sadie, Collin, Annabelle, and Reagan are their names. Then Kathleen has 3 girls and 2 boys, Braylin, Joel, Kailynn, Emmy, and Julia. Lizzie has 3 girls and 2 boys as well, Alana, Abigail, Aimee, Jacob, and John Luke." She told me.

"That's a lot of people." I informed her.

"You'll get used to the idea." She told me as she looked over to me her eyes landing on the necklace. "You still have the necklace?" She asked me.

"I never take it off." I told her.

"It was my grandmothers. I decided you should have it because I wanted to always be there for you even if I couldn't physically be there." She said.

"Can I ask you something?" I nervously mumbled.

"Yeah anything." She answered.

"Did you ever consider keeping me?" I asked nervously.

"I did. I wanted a baby I really did it just wouldn't have been a good environment for you to grow up in. Derek and I were having 72 hour shifts some days and were barely home. We wanted better for you." She told me.

"If you had known that I wasn't going to be adopted, would you have kept me?" I asked.

She thought about that for a few seconds. "Yes. I would have kept you. I wanted for you to have a mom and a dad to love you and give you all the attention you needed."

So I really could've had a family. I looked out the window and noticed we were nearing the mall. "I wish you had known." I said quietly.

"I wish I had too." She told me as she pulled into a parking spot in the mall parking lot.

We got out of the car and made our way through the cool air into the warmth of the mall. "Where should we go?" I asked. I had only been in a mall once to get the dress for the trial so I had no idea where even to start.

"I know a lot of girls your age like Abercrombie and Fitch. How about we got there?" She said.

"Yeah ok, sounds good." I told her.

We walked through the busy mall, occasionally bumping in to a person or two, before reaching the store. As we entered, the aroma of colognes and perfumes overwhelmed my senses. "Do you know what size you wear?" She asked me.

"Usually either a kid's size or double zero." I told her.

"Let's start at the jeans." She said.

We walked to a wall filled with jeans. We both began going through the different stacks and styles. I decided I liked the skinny jeans and the jeggings best because they were my only hope of finding junior jeans that would stay on me without sliding down. We bought a few variations of the jeans each in different colors ranging from light blue to almost black dark blue. Next we went to the tops. We picked out some t-shirts and sweaters and decided to move on to the next shop. I immediately eyed the Disney shirts and sweatshirts. "Do you like Disney?" Addison asked me.

"Yeah I do something about the happy endings even though bad things happen." I told her.

"I like Disney movies too." She told me. "The Lion King is probably my favorite."

"That's my favorite too." I said just as I grabbed the Lion King sweatshirt in front of me.

After going through many stores, including some rather expensive shoe stores, Addison informed me that I needed purses. She insisted on Coach Purses because supposedly they are the best. I only wanted one but again, Addison insisted I get one for each outfit. I never dreamed of paying 3000 dollars on purses alone but it seemed like a habit for Addison. The shopping spree finally ended and I found myself back in Addison's car. "Thank you." I told Addison.

"I love shopping." She told me smiling. "Plus you deserve all these things and more. You're a good kid Gracie."

For the first time I didn't mind being called a child. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I wasn't granted emancipation so legally I am a child. "Where are we going now?" I asked her.

"Well I'm going to call Derek and see if we need to go to the practice or if he has Nancy's keys." She answered.

"What if they don't like me?" I asked. People, with the exception of Derek and Addison, usually don't like me right away.

"Who, Derek's family?" She asked me.

"Yeah." I said.

She sighed. "With Derek's family, they are different than most families. They are all about family. They give each other crap and then get over it. They are best friends and accept people into the family quickly. They were a family to me even after I hurt their brother. You have nothing to worry about."

I hope I really have nothing to worry about. If Derek's family doesn't approve of me maybe he won't either. What if he doesn't want me anymore and I have to spend the next four years in foster home after foster home. I guess I'll just have to make a good first impression. "Can I change before we meet them? I'm not in the most, umm, modest thing in the world. I don't want them thinking I'm…easy." I told her not sure how she'd react if I said a word like whore or slut.

"They would never think of you that way but sure if you want to you can change before we go." She answered me.

We came to a stop right by Central Park. "Where are we?" I asked her.

"At the brownstone don't tell Derek we came here." She told me.

I smiled. I felt like I was on a super secret mission. Gosh, sometimes my thoughts make me feel even more like a child. "I won't." I told her.

We got out of the car and went through the door to the brownstone. I could see immediately why Addison wanted to live here. It was gorgeous! "There's a bathroom right down the hall in the master bedroom. I'll wait for you in here." She told me taking a seat on the brown couch flipping on the TV.

I made my way through the house searching for the master bedroom. I finally found it and went inside throwing the bags I was carrying from the car on the bed. I emptied the contents of the many bags trying to pick out an outfit. I settled on some dark skinny jeans from Abercrombie, a peach colored tank top, and my Lion King pullover with Simba and Nala on it. I finished with my magenta North Face jacket and a pair of black UGGs with buttons on the side. My hair was already straight so I put it in a waterfall. I removed some of the makeup so I only had eye liner and mascara with a light shade of pink lip gloss. I decided I looked good enough so I left to go see Addison. She smiled as I approached her. "I love that outfit." She told me.

"Thanks. So are we going to the practice?" I asked.

"Yeah we are going to meet Derek there. If his sisters seem shocked at first it's because, well they don't know that you're here. They still think you were adopted." She told me.

"Oh, ok." I said.

We got back in Addison's car and drove for a few minutes before reaching a tall office building. "So the practice is on the fourth floor so we've got to take the elevator." She told me.

We got on the elevator with a few other people and hit the fourth floor button. "You have a beautiful daughter. She looks just like you." A woman told Addison.

That's the first time anyone has ever guessed me as her daughter. It felt good. It made me feel like I belonged with her. "Thank you." Addison told her.

The ding sounded signaling we had reached the designated floor. I suddenly became nervous again. This was a huge thing. I wouldn't meet just one of Derek's sisters; I would meet all of them and their husbands. I walked close behind Addison as we navigated through the lobby. She led me through the staff door where my eyes landed on Derek talking to a woman with short dark reddish brown hair. "Who's that?" I asked Addison.

"Her name is Nancy." She told me as we walked closer to them.

"Addie." Nancy said before wrapping her arms around Addison.

"Nancy Pants." Addison said before they broke apart.

"You must be Gracie." She said to me.

"Hi." I said quietly moving a tad closer to Addison.

"It's nice to meet you." She told me. I could tell she wasn't really sure what to do or say.

"Nancy has agreed to let us stay with her until we find a place." Derek told me.

"Thank you." I said to her.

"Hey, no need for thanks. We're family."

That word sounded so nice. I had a family now. I smiled at Nancy.

"Do you want to meet the rest of the family?" Derek asked me.

"Yeah, umm sure." I said.

I followed Derek through the hallways and into a room with couches and a kitchen. I noticed lots of people sitting talking and laughing. One of them, a woman, looked at Derek. "Dare bear! What are you doing here?!" She said happily wrapping her arms around him and then doing the same to Addison.

"Kathy it's nice to see you!" He said. "And well, it's complicated why we are here." Derek said.

"Who's this?" The other woman, Lizzie I'm guessing, asked nodding towards me.

"Everyone, this is Gracie, Addison and my daughter." Derek said.

The room went silent. As in you could hear a pin drop silent. The group of peoples' eyes darted from me, to Addison, to Derek, and back to me. The silence was broken when a sort of buff man picked me up in a hug. "Welcome to the family! I'm Matt, Lizzie's husband." He said putting me down.

Once I got over the initial shock of being picked up I laughed and said "Thanks.".

The rest of the family greeted me. Kathleen was the next one and she hugged me which was pretty shocking. I got over the shock from being hugged after receiving a hug from each family member. I'm guessing this family hugs.

We all sat around the practice for awhile before Derek and Addison took me to Nancy's house. It was beautiful like something in one of the magazines. It had a huge backyard and a really cool finished basement with a home theater. After getting all my things settled in one of the guest rooms, the one decorated like you were at the beach, I heard a car pull up. I wandered around before finding the room I guess Addison has claimed. Addison and Derek were more than likely not going to share a room. "Who's here?" I asked Addison.

"Probably the kids. They are part of a carpool system and it's about time for them to be home." She answered.

"AUNT ADDIE! UNCLE DEREK! MOM SENT ME A TEXT SAYING YOU WILL BE STAYING WITH US FOR A WHILE! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!" I heard a girl yell.

"That's Sadie, she's 13, almost 14, so you two should be able to find something to talk about. WE'RE UP HERE SADIE!" Addison called back.

I heard the sound of people running before a teenage girl burst through the door. She looked a lot like Nancy. "AUNT ADDIE!" She yelled before throwing herself into Addison's arms. She was followed by two more girls that seemed about 9 and 5, and a boy that if I had to guess, I would say is 11. Once they noticed me, Sadie asked who I was.

"That's your cousin, Gracie." Addison told her.

Sadie looked at me. "Cool! Hey Gracie, want to go watch Twilight in the home theater? I have all the movies!"

I did love Twilight. "Yeah sounds great!" I told her. It would be nice if we could become friends. I followed her down to the basement and in to the home theater.

"Which one do you want to watch?" She asked me.

"I've only seen the first one." I admitted. I didn't even know there was more than one.

"Ok then we are totally watching the other four all tonight! Twilight marathon!" She said excitedly before adjusting things and setting up the movie. She left for a second coming back with popcorn and Dr. Pepper. I think we'll get along just fine.

"This is so cool!" I told her.

"The theater? I know right! Mom and dad put it in one year for us for Christmas. Before we start, I've got to ask, Team Edward or Team Jacob?" She questioned.

I thought about my answer for a little bit before answering. "Ok, so I'm Team Edward but Jacob's hotter." I told her.

"Same!" She cheered.

We began New Moon while stuffing our faces with popcorn. We both sobbed like babies when Edward left Bella and then started laughing at how emotional we got. Sometime during Eclipse, we were called upstairs for dinner. We paused the movie and headed up.

Sadie and I sat by each other and ate as quickly as possibly hoping to get back downstairs. "Girls, slow down or you'll both choke." Peter, Nancy's husband, told us.

We both started laughing. "Sorry dad, we'll try and contain ourselves." Sadie said.

We finished dinner and ran down the stairs. "So, do you have a boyfriend?" I asked Sadie.

"Sort of, I mean, we are like not boyfriend girlfriend, but we are defiantly more than friends." She said happily.

"I need details! What's he like?" I asked.

"Well, he's super cute. He's got black hair and green eyes and is muscular. He plays basically every sport and he's like the sweetest guy on earth. What about you? Do you have a special guy?" She asked.

Truthfully, I used to. He and I dated from 5th grade which I know sounds ridiculous, to this year. So that's like 4ish years. He died though. He was in a car accident and didn't make it. "I used to but not anymore." I told her.

"To bad, oh well, I mean like who needs guys anyway?" She asked.

"Yeah who needs guys?" I agreed.

Half way through Breaking Dawn Part 2, we both fell asleep.

Derek POV

Gracie had taken to my family better than I had expected. She and Sadie are practically joined at the hip and they just met. Nancy had been more than willing to allow us to stay with her probably because she wants to get Addie and I back together. I mean it wouldn't be the worst thing ever. Seeing her with our daughter has made me realize I really do miss her. I remembered why I fell in love with her in the first place.

I walked into the room Addison was staying in. "You know, you don't have to stay in this room by yourself." I told her. I was secretly hoping that we could sleep together. Not have sex, just sleep, side by side, together.

She raised her eyebrows. "I'll take that into consideration." She answered.

I smiled my famous smile at her which she returned with a hug. "I've missed you Addie." I admitted.

"I've missed you too." She said slowly breaking the hug.

"I don't think I've ever told you this but I forgive you for what you did and I'm sorry for what I did. I know that technically we weren't together but I was unfaithful too and I'm slowly beginning to realize that." I admitted to her.

"I forgave you a long time ago. We both made mistakes." She said.

"Let's try to undo some of them." I suggested.

"I like that idea." She whispered as she kissed me on the cheek. That kiss brought back a swarm of memories of when we were happy. It even brought back the memory of us kissing on our wedding day.

"We should go check on the girls." I told her.

We both got up and headed to the basement. We smiled at the sleeping girls. "I think this calls for a picture." Addison whispered taking out her phone and taking a picture. After that I carried Sadie to her room and went back for Gracie. Addie and I tucked her in and kissed her forehead.

Gracie POV

I woke up the next day in the bed I guess I could now call mine. I smelled the amazing aroma of bacon cooking which was enough motivation to get me out of bed. I got up and headed down the stairs and followed my nose to get to the kitchen. "Good morning." Peter said waving the spatula in his hand at me.

I laughed a bit. "Morning." I said taking a seat by Nancy at the table.

"Sleep well?" She asked me.

"Like a baby." I told her. "Where is everyone?"

"Well, Peter and I have the day off so we are here, the kids are all at school, and Derek and Addison are working things out with the practice. They said to tell you they'd be home soon.

"Oh, ok. So do you all cook wonderful smelling food every morning?" I asked.

They both laughed. "Only when we have the day off, the rest of the time it's cereal and or a bagel." Peter answered me.

"So, I was thinking, and I know Addie already bought you like a ton of clothes, but since you're my niece, that means I have every right to spoil you so how would you like to go shopping today?" Nancy asked enthusiastically.

I smiled. If every woman in this family is obsessed with shopping, I'll fit right in. "That sounds amazing!" I told her causing her to smile.

"So you inherited the shopping gene to? You and I will get along just fine." She said taping my nose.

"So, Gracie, what do you like to do for fun?" Peter asked. "Besides shopping of course."

Fun? I don't really have any hobbies. I always wanted to play soccer and do cheer but I was never allowed. "I like to read and write. Sometimes I go for runs and I love to sing." I told him.

"Who's your favorite author?" He asked.

"Probably Shakespeare, I tend to like the classics, but John Knowles comes in a close second. Well I guess not so much him as his book A Separate Peace."

"I read that book recently. It's beautifully written." He said placing some pancakes on the plate in front of me.

"You said you write? What about?" Nancy asked.

"I mostly write poems or songs. I've written a few short stories and have been sort of working on a book since I was little."

"What's it about?" Nancy asked.

"A kid that goes on a journey searching for her parents." I answered taking the first bite of the delicious pancakes.

"You said you sing right?" She asked.

"I'm not very good but I try." I said.

"Nonsense, I bet you're a star." Peter said causing me to giggle.

"I'm not sure star is the word but I do enjoy it though." I said.

The rest of breakfast was spent with questions about me. It was weird, to be cared about I mean. Once breakfast was over, I went to get ready for the trip to the mall. I took a shower, dried and straightened my hair settling on a pink Ralph Lauren sweater and some buckle jeans accompanied by matching pink converse and a pink purse. I headed back down the stairs wear I ran into Nancy by the door. "Girl you got style." Nancy said in a funny voice.

"Thanks." I said giggling.

"You ready to go?" She asked.

"Yeah let's hit the mall!" I said causing her to laugh.

Our little journey wound up not being so little. We bought so many outfits I honestly had no idea where I would put them all. In the car I decided to ask Nancy about maybe having Sadie meet some of my friends. "Hey Nancy?" I asked.

"Yes?" She asked.

"So every Friday, some of my friends get together to watch movies and just hang out. Do you think it would be ok for me and Sadie to join them tonight? I haven't seen them in a long time and I'd really like Sadie to meet them." I asked nervously playing with my hair.

"I don't see why not as long as it's ok with Derek and Addison. Where do you all meet up?" She asked.

"Usually at Lombardi's, the pizza place on Spring Street." I answered.

"I love Lombardi's!" She said. "But yes its fine by me."

We got back to the house at the same time as Derek and Addison. I hopped out of the car and got some bags from the trunk. It took all four of us, plus Peter coming to help, to get the bags upstairs. Addison and Nancy decided to play dress up on me next. I'm not sure how many outfits I was forced into before they decided to hold off until tomorrow. I decided to ask Addison while she was still in my room about going out. "Hey Addison?"

"Yeah?"

"Would it be ok with you if Sadie and I went to hang out with a few of my friends at Lombardi's tonight?" I asked.

"Sounds like fun. Sure I have no problem with it. What time do you need to be there?" She asked.

"5:30." I answered.

"Sure I'll drop you off." She said.

I smiled "Thank you."

"It's no trouble." Nancy had left the room leaving me alone with Addison. "Did you have fun today? I'm sorry we didn't tell you about us going to the practice we didn't want to wake you this morning."

"It's fine and yeah I had so much fun! I really like Nancy." I told her. "Peter is really cool too and he can cook some mean pancakes."

She smiled. "Yes he can."

"Addison?" I asked.

"Yes?" She curiously asked.

"I know it's kinda soon but can I call you something other than Addison? Like Addie or maybe…" I trailed off. The word mom was just weird to think about.

"You can call me whatever you're comfortable with." She answered putting a hand on my arm.

"Is Addie ok for now?" I asked.

"Of course it is." She beamed.

I want to one day call Addison and Derek mom and dad but not today. She reached out to me for a hug and I gladly accepted her loving arms. It felt so nice to be loved.

Later that day, Sadie got home and we both got ready for a night on the town. I settled on a pair of dark buckle skinny jeans, red heels, a red top, and a yellow pea coat. I put my hair in a side fishtail and put some red lipstick on to complete my look. Sadie was wearing some black skinny jeans, a white top, a black jacket and some black converse. We got in Addie's car as she complimented our sense of style. She drove us to Lombardi's saying something about being safe as we got out of the car. We walked in together to find my old friends sitting at a table laughing and eating pizza. I walked up to them instantly being picked up by my friend Brad as he greeted me.

"Look whose back guys!" He shouted.

Once all my personal greetings were out of the way I looked them all over. "Guys, this is Sadie." I said pointing to her. "Sadie, this is Brad, Justin, Zack, Cole, Dustin, Maggie, Gretchen, Lisa, Megan, Katie, and Susan."

"Hi." Sadie said.

We took the two remaining seats at the table. "So, what's the news on the emancipation?" Gretchen asked me. It had been so long they didn't even know I had found my parents.

"Well, the judge didn't grant it to me. Instead, she made my birth parents my legal guardians. It's ok though, I really like them and the family they have. Sadie is my cousin actually." I told them.

"A lot has changed hasn't it?" Brad asked me.

"It has but I'm pretty sure it's for the better." I told him.

Once pizza was finished, Maggie decided to invite us all over. "Hey, my 'rents are out of town if you all want to come over." She told us.

"Sounds like fun." Katie said.

"I'm in." Megan added.

I looked at Sadie. "Do you want to go?" I asked her quietly.

"It sounds like fun." She answered.

"Ok, we're coming." I answered.

Together, the group of my friends and I made our way to Maggie's apartment which is only a few blocks away. We all went inside and sat down. Maggie went to the kitchen and came back with beers tossing each of us one of them. "You don't have to drink it." I whispered to Sadie.

She shrugged and opened it taking a sip. I decided if Sadie was drinking, I might as well enjoy myself too. I opened the beer and drank it all down. Before I knew it I had downed 3 beers and taken 4 shots of tequila. I could feel myself getting more and more drunk by the minute. I searched the room for Sadie only to notice she was totally wasted dancing wildly to the music.

An hour passed and I realized we probably should have called to ask for a ride. How could I call Addie or Derek though? They'd kill me if they knew I was drunk. Nancy had been extremely kind to me and I trust her a lot. Maybe she'd be cool with it? I pulled Sadie aside.

"Sadie, we need to get home." I told her. She laughed obviously to wasted to care. "I'm going to call your mom cause she will be less mad than Addie or Derek." I finished. She just laughed again.

I took Sadie's phone from her and scrolled through her contacts stopping on Nancy's number. I hit the call button and waited for an answer. "Hello?" I heard.

"Nancy?" I asked.

"Gracie? Are you two ready to be picked up?" She asked.

"We are." I told her. "But we aren't at the pizza place anymore." I told her.

"Where are you?" She asked.

"At my friend Maggie's apartment a block down." I said.

"Have you been drinking?" She asked. I guess I wasn't being very inconspicuous.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I did it." I said suddenly becoming scared.

"We'll talk about it when I get there." She said. "I'll be there soon."

"Bye."

"Bye."

I couldn't quite tell if Nancy was mad or not. I guess all I can do is wait and see. 30 minutes passed and Nancy called telling me she was outside. I dragged the now extraordinarily drunk Sadie to the car. We both got in the back seat. "Girls, I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed." Nancy said. "I understand you two are at the age where in today's world it's normal to experiment but this went a bit too far. Sadie, you're grounded for 3 weeks. Gracie, I'm going to have to tell Addison and Derek." She told me.

"Please don't. They'll be so mad." I begged.

"It won't be that bad and I have no choice but to tell them. Plus even if I didn't I'm 100 percent sure they'd figure it out." She stated.

I sighed. The ride home was quiet besides the drunk laughter coming from Sadie. We pulled up to the house and I suddenly became nervous to face Addison and Derek. I followed Nancy inside to find the three other adults waiting for us. "Sadie go to your room. We'll deal with you when you're sober enough to understand what we're saying." Nancy told her firmly but not harshly.

I couldn't look at Addison and Derek without bursting into tears so I settled on staring at the wooden floor. "Gracie, look at me." Addison said. I slowly took my eyes from the floor to hers. "What on earth were you thinking?!" She asked in a raised tone. "It's bad enough that you went drinking with friends but the fact that you dragged Sadie into this mess too is even worse. Plus the fact you lied to me and to Nancy about what you would be doing. This is inexcusable!" She said.

I looked back at the ground avoiding eye contact again. "Gracie, what do you have to say for yourself?" Derek asked. I kept staring at the ground. "Gracie!" He snapped. That reminded me of the punishments I would receive in the majority of my foster homes.

"Please don't hit me." I begged.

I looked up with tears in my eyes, tears of fear. I saw Addison, Derek, Peter, and Nancy all looking at each other confused. "Why on Earth would we hit you?" Derek asked.

"That's what would've happened to me in my other homes." I said as tears began rolling down my cheeks.

Addison approached me causing me to step back a bit. She stopped dead in her tracks to try not to scare me. "Gracie, sweetie, look at me." She said calmly. I shook my head. "Please sweetie." She pleaded. My eyes found hers. "Even if we are upset with you, none of us would ever hurt you." She told me. I felt more tears escape my eyes.

"Did they hit you a lot?" Derek asked me inching closer slowly. I nodded my head. "Was it only when you upset them?" He asked probably praying the answer was yes to shed some light on what they did to me. I shook my head. Addison slowly approached me placing her hand on my arm. I flinched but eased up as she began to rub circles showing me she was there for comfort not for pain. I leaned into her now sobbing.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't intend to go out drinking but Maggie asked us over and we went. I'm so sorry! Please don't hate me! I'm sorry." I sobbed as Addison tightened her grip around me.

"Sweetie, none of us could ever hate you." She said.

"Everyone says that but then they do or they send me back. Please don't send me back!" I begged crying harder.

Derek joined us and took me from Addison's arms. "I want you to listen to me. We will never hurt you. We will never hate you. We will NEVER send you back. We LOVE you. We are your family. We all love you. Look at Peter and Nancy. Do they seem like people that hate you? We were upset because we were scared that you two would do something like that. We love you so much. I promise you we will never hurt you. In fact, I will NEVER let anyone hurt you ever again. What those people did to you was wrong. You will always be safe when I'm around." He told me as I slowly put my head on his chest and stopped crying as he gently rubbed my back. It feels good to have a family.

Crime 2: Underage Drinking


	3. Cheaters Never Win

Chapter 3: Cheaters Never Win

"_My dear young cousin, if there's one thing I've learned over the eons, it's that you can't give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it."  
― __Rick Riordan_

Gracie POV

Today I start school at some prestigious private school. All my life I've gone to public school so this should be a change. Derek and Addison had to pull some major strings to get me in especially in the middle of a semester. The uniform isn't hideous but it certainly isn't attractive. It consists of a light blue, grey, and red plaid skirt, a white button down, red sweater, grey knee socks, and Sperries. I'm extremely nervous to start school. I mean the only people I know are my cousins and the oldest one is Sadie who's a year behind me in school and in a completely different building. So it's the middle of a semester and I'm going into a school where I don't know anyone, great. Oh well, I mean I don't have to gain friends. I can just go to school and come home or at least, so I thought. Derek wants me to try out for the basketball team. He says it will help me fit in or something like that. Honestly, it sounds like fun but I mean I don't know the first thing about basketball. I've always wanted to play it's just I really don't know how. Derek assures me that he and his brothers-in-law would all help me learn if I want to and I hesitantly agreed. Addison was excited because it meant shopping for cute basketball outfits. I figure that will be the only thing basketball related I'm good at. Picking outfits. I finally decided to make some attempt to get ready. I decided to at least try and look attractive. I styled my hair from its curls to being slightly wavy and did a tiny waterfall braid to keep my hair out of my face. I pulled on the stupid uniform and made my way downstairs.

"Well you look cute!" Nancy said winking since she knows I'm not a fan of the uniform.

I rolled my eyes and sat by her where I had an awaiting bowel of cereal. "I wonder how long it will take to get used to this." I said gesturing towards the uniform.

"I've been wearing it since preschool and I'm still not used to it. Better learn to tolerate it quickly." Sadie advised.

I mentally swore about this stupid uniform. Derek and Addison appeared in the kitchen smiling at me. "What?" I asked them.

"It's your first day of school!" Addison cheered.

"Actually, it's not. It's just my first day at my new school." I informed her.

"Well, it's your first day of school with us and in the Shepherd family, we have a tradition!" Derek exclaimed.

"What is this tradition?" I asked.

Peter showed up smiling with a laundry basket filled with presents. "Happy first day of school!" he cheered.

I laughed. What on earth was this? Christmas morning? "What is all this?" I asked.

"New school supplies. We always wrap them all up so you can rip them open!" Derek cheered.

I laughed and proceeded to unwrap all the school essentials. After I had my new north face backpack full of school supplies, I got into Addison's car and braced myself for the day to come. Basketball tryouts are today only adding to my stress. "Are you excited for school?" Addison asked me.

"What if I don't make the basketball team? Will Derek be mad?" I asked.

"Of course he won't be mad. Just try your best." She told me.

"What if I'm not good at school? I mean I've never gone to a private school. What if it's too hard?"

"We'll help you don't worry. Again, just try your best. That's all we can ask." She assured me.

We pulled up to a large castle like building. "Is this it?" I asked.

"It is. I'm going to walk you in and make sure they have all the paperwork in order. Are you ready?" She asked.

I'm pretty sure that I'll never be ready for this day. "Yeah ok." I answered.

We got out of the car and walked into the building and to the front office. We approached a blonde woman sitting behind a large desk. "Oh, you must be Cassidy Shepherd, and you must be Dr. Shepherd." She said to me.

"I go by Gracie." I said shyly.

"Well Gracie, I'm Ms. Brooks the school secretary. Everything seems to be in order so I guess all that's left is to give you your schedule. I also have a student with identical classes to help you find your way around campus but he's not here yet. Let's see, here's your schedule" She handed me the piece of folded paper. "And here's a form that you need to get signed by all your teachers. I see you are also going to try out for the school's basketball team so I organized a meeting with Coach Carter during lunch here in the office. Do you have any questions?" She finished by giving me a huge smile.

"No I think I've got it." I answered her while unfolding my schedule.

First period gym, second period chemistry, third period, English, fourth period geometry, fifth period history, sixth period anatomy, seventh period psychology. Wow when they said prestigious I didn't know they meant like this. "Is it ok if I go now?" Addison asked me.

"Yeah, totally." I told her when in reality I just wanted to go back home. The butterflies in my stomach were growing and I suddenly didn't feel so well.

"I'll be here to pick you up after try outs." She told me.

"Sounds good." I mumbled. I knew Addison could tell I was nervous. The look on her face made it obvious she knew.

"Have fun and make lots of friends ok?" She said as she wrapped an arm around me.

"I'll try." I said.

"Bye sweetie." She told me as she left the office.

"Is it ok if I wait here until the guy you told me about gets here?" I asked Ms. Brooks.

"Sure it's completely fine. Let me know if you need anything." Ms. Brooks seemed nice enough but I couldn't tell if she was just a giant fake.

I sat for awhile before a very attractive guy walked in. "Hey Ms. B!" He called smiling and waving to the secretary. He was defiantly the most attractive guy I had ever seen. He had shortish brown hair and ocean blue eyes. His smile stopped my heart with his pearly white teeth literally sparkling.

"Oh you're here! This is Gracie, the girl I was telling you about. Gracie, this is Chase."

"Hi, it's great to meet you!" He said smiling at me causing me to blush.

"Nice to meet you too." I managed to miraculously answer.

"So, you want to get going?" He asked.

"Yeah sounds great." I answered attempting to pick up my backpack.

"I'll get that." He told me.

"You don't have to." I protested.

"Nonsense it would be my pleasure." He argued. What is he just perfect? We both headed out of the office. "So, what brought you to NY Prep?" He asked.

"It's kind of a long story." I told him.

"I'm sure I can keep up." He protested.

"Umm well my parents just moved here and my cousins all go here so I guess it was just inevitable."

"You've got cousins here?" He asked.

"Yeah, they're all younger though. My parents are Derek and Addison Shepherd." I answered. Addison decided it would be easier to address them both as Shepherd.

"Oh cool so you're a Shepherd?" He asked.

"Yeah, is that what you call my cousins?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, the Shepherds are a legacy around here. Sadie's the only one I know that well but they all seem pretty great."

"Yeah Sadie and I are good friends."

"So you said your parents just moved here, from where?"

"That's where the complicated part comes in. My dad used to live in Seattle and my mom was in LA."

"Did they like get back together?" He asked.

"Sorta. Umm, I was a foster kid. Like they gave me up as a baby and then I had to find them to get their signatures and the judge decided to put me back in their custody." I explained.

"That is sort of complicated. So, what do you like to do?" He asked.

"Well I'm trying out for the school basketball team."

"I play basketball too! Coach Carter is a great coach."

"I've never played before so I hope I make it."

"I'm sure you will. So listen, if you want, you could maybe sit with me at lunch today?"

"I'd love to but I am meeting with Coach Carter then."

"I can come with you." He offered.

"Would Coach Carter be ok with that?" I asked.

"Oh yeah totally! He's really cool."

"Well I guess I can't argue with that." I said.

"So it's a date?" He asked.

I about stopped walking because of the shock at that word but quickly composed myself. "Yeah, it's a date." I answered trying to hide my blush.

"Well here's the gym." He said. "I guess we can go pick up a uniform for you from the coach and I can get one of the girls to help you get settled in the locker room."

"Yeah ok sounds good." I answered.

We walked up to a female teacher with a whistle around her neck. "Hey Coach B, this is Gracie, the new student. Do you have her gym clothes?" He asked.

"Of course, hello Gracie I'm Coach Bennett but everyone calls me Coach B. Here come with me." She told us.

We followed her into a room to the side where she handed me a stack of clothes. "Thank you." I said.

"I'll get one of the girls to show you to the locker room." She told me. "Bree!" She called.

A girl about the same size as me with curly red hair appeared. "Yes coach?" She asked.

"Bree, this is Gracie. It's her first day here I was hoping you could help her find her way around the locker room." She proposed.

"Yeah totally. Come on Gracie it's this way." She told me. I hesitantly followed her. "So the guys is to the left and the girls to the right. Follow me." I followed her down the stairs. "So what grade are you in?" She asked me.

"I'm a freshman." I told her as we came to the end of the hallway and into a large room.

"So am I. So most of us usually just show up in our gym clothes because it is just easier that way that's why we're the only ones down here." She explained.

"That'll be nice. Just show up in sweats. I can do that." I told her.

"Just be sure to remember to pack your uniform. I forgot once and I got stuck in little boy khaki pants. That is one thing I never want to repeat."

I laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Do you play any sports?" She asked.

"I'm trying out for basketball today but I doubt I'll make it. I've never played."

"I'm trying out too! You don't need to worry about not making it. Coach Carter doesn't make cuts."

"Any pointers?" I asked.

"Hmm, I guess that the most important thing is to try. Never stand around always be moving. Are you fast?" She asked.

"I'm pretty fast." I answered.

"That's a good advantage to have." She told me.

Once I finished pulling on the red Nike shorts, light blue Nike shirt, and grey Nike shorts, accompanied by light blue Nike shoes, we both made our way back up to the gym. "So, what do we usually do in gym class?" I asked.

"It depends on the day. Mondays and Wednesdays are fitness days so we go for runs or go to the weight room. Tuesdays and Thursdays are sports days so we play sports, and Fridays are free days so as long as you're being active you can do basically whatever." She explained. "So I'm having this party thing Friday if you want to come." She offered.

"I'd love to but I think we are having some Birthday dinner for my grandmother. What time does it start?" I asked.

"It's from 8 PM to 1 AM."

"Maybe after the dinner? I'm not sure though because I sort of pissed my parents off last Friday." I told her.

"Uh oh. What'd you do?" She asked.

"You'll think I'm an awful person." I warned.

"That's highly unlikely." She laughed.

"So I took my cousin out to meet some of my old friends and we both wound up drunk." I told her.

She laughed. "That's all? By the way you said it I thought you did drugs or something."

I laughed. "Well I'm pretty sure taking my 8th grade cousin out to get drunk was just as bad in their eyes." I told her as Chase joined us.

"Who's your cousin? Do they go here?" She asked.

"All her cousins go here." Chase charmed in putting his arm around here. "This is our newest Shepherd." He explained.

"You're a Shepherd!? That's pretty cool!" She told me. Did everyone know my family around here?

"Yeah I guess it is." I told her.

"Wait you said 8th grade cousin. Did you get Sadie drunk?" She asked bursting into laughter.

I sort of cracked up too. Sadie didn't come off as the drinking type. "I told her she didn't have to drink." I explained.

Chase started laughing too. "Sadie not drinking a little at a party would be like completely unrealistic." He explained.

"So I didn't get Sadie drunk for the first time?" I asked.

They both laughed again. "You'll learn soon enough that the kids at this school tend to get a little out of hand at parties." Bree said.

It made since now. Why Nancy and Peter weren't as angry as Derek and Addison. "Alright bring it in!" I heard Coach B yell. We all jogged over to her. "I want at least 3 miles today walking or running. Alright hit the campus!" She yelled.

I jogged with Chase and Bree. We made small talk until we finally finished our miles and headed to the locker rooms. Once Bree and I got dressed we decided to buy a quick snack. "What class do you have next?" She asked while hitting the vending machine button for a peanut butter cliff bar.

I pulled out my schedule. "Chemistry." I answered.

"Me too! You'll love it! It's difficult but SO fun!"

"Hey ladies! What happened to waiting for your friend?" I heard Chase call while running to catch up with us.

We both giggled as he playfully shoved us. "Sorry Chase, you should learn to keep up!" Bree told him.

"I'll race you both to chemistry!" He yelled before running away.

"Hey no fair you cheated!" Yelled Bree taking after him. I laughed and ran after her trying to keep up.

We all ran through the different hallways and up the stairs before coming to a halt in the chemistry lab. "Well I totally won!" I decided.

"No you didn't! I was here first!" Chase argued.

"But you started first." I argued.

"Yeah I say Gracie wins!" Bree helped.

"Fine but I'll totally win on the way to English!" He argued.

We all laughed. "Alright ladies and gentlemen let's take our seats shall we?" I heard a man say behind us. We all turned around.

"Hey Mr. Davis! This is Gracie she's new!" Chase introduced me.

"Hi." I said shyly.

"Why hello Ms. Gracie, it just so happens that the seat at Chase and Bree's lab table is open. Would you like to sit with them?" He asked.

"Yes please." I said.

"And here's your text book." He said handing me an orange book.

We took our seats at our lab table and listened to Mr. Davis talk. My next few classes blew by and it was finally time for lunch. "You ready to meet Coach Carter?" Chase asked helping me up from my seat.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I told him.

"Nervous?" He asked.

"A little."

"Don't be, Carter's really chill." He assured.

"I hope so." I said as we both walked into the office to see a muscular man flirting with the secretary.

"Ahh, here they are!" He exclaimed coming up to us holding his hand out to me. I took it and he shook it. "I'm Coach Carter and you must be Gracie." He proclaimed.

"Yes sir." I answered trying my best to be polite and respectful.

"How about we go back to the conference room to eat?" He offered.

"Yeah sounds great." I said.

We followed him to a room with a big table and spinny chairs. "I sent for some pizza so it should be here soon. In the meantime, take a seat." He directed.

Chase and I sat across from him and Chase immediately started to spin. I laughed and about peed my pants. Coach Carter cleared his throat causing us to both compose ourselves. "Sorry." Chase said.

"I understand." He explained. "So, Gracie, I see here it says you've never played before." He informed me.

"I haven't sir but my father and uncles have all taken to the liberty of deciding to teach me." I explained.

"You should be a natural; I mean it is in your blood."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Didn't your dad mention to you that he and your uncles were all part of the teams each year the teams won state?" He asked.

"No he didn't." I told him trying to picture them on a basketball team but immediately pushing the images of them away because I knew back then that short shorts were part of the uniform.

"Well besides that your cousins are all middle school and elementary basketball stars so it's inevitable that it will come naturally." He told me. Man no pressure. Only the fact that I'm supposed to be amazing.

"I sure hope so." I told him.

"Well anyway, let's get to the stuff you need to know for tryouts."

The rest of lunch was spent going over plays and basic drills. Chase was right about Coach Carter being really cool. After lunch, we went to our last two classes and before I knew it was time for basketball tryouts. I walked with Bree to the locker room to get dressed. My first thoughts about this was it's a really bad idea. Looking around, Bree and I were about two feet shorter than everyone else. Literally two feet. At least my outfit is cute. I'm sporting a cute grey and black Nike shirt, black Nike shorts, black Nike socks, and black Nike basketball shoes. I had put my hair into two braided pigtails. I nervously followed the rest of the girls up to the gym floor.

Coach Carter blew his whistle signaling us to bring it in. "Alright ladies, all I ask is that you try hard. So everyone let's warm up with a few laps shall we?"

We all took off running. Bree and I were the two fastest of the group which might give me a leg up on the competition. After running, stretching, and basic drills, the important part began. The main part of tryouts was to scrimmage each other. Coach explained the last team standing of the tournament would be the starting five and the team that loses to them would be the Varsity subs. He said the rest of the girls would be JV so this mattered a lot. I was very grateful that Bree and I were on the same team. I was placed as point guard, which was like a totally bad idea. I mean placing the kid that's never played before at the most important position? It made no sense to me. Bree was a guard along with a nice girl named Tasha. Julia and Meg were our two post guards and from what I could tell were nice too.

Our team won the first three games we played in and we were now in the quarter finals. If we won this, we would definitely be on varsity and if not, we would play for the starting JV positions. The team we were against was full of all tall girls and I knew this would be the hardest game today. All was going well and we were ahead by 2 points with 2 minutes on the clock. The other team was pissed off and out for blood. The girl, Hayley, guarding me was getting closer and closer to fouling me every second. I had the ball and was dribbling as fast as I could down court to try for a lay-up. As soon as I jumped up I felt a hand grab my leg and pull me down. Next I felt a snap and a shooting pain through my leg. I sat on the ground trying my best not to cry over my throbbing knee. I heard coach blow his whistle and then Bree and my team were at my side instantly.

"Oh my God! Are you ok?" Bree asked as I held onto my leg for dear life.

"No, my knee is killing me." I told her.

Coach ran over to us and put his hand on my back. "Do you think you can walk?" He asked me quickly scanning my leg, his eyes landing on my swollen knee. "Never mind, let's get you to the trainer." He said as he picked me up and carried me off the court. I could swear I saw him glare at Hayley as he carried me to the trainer's room and sat me on a table. "Thomas, we've got a messed up knee." He stated before another man came into view.

"What's your name sweetie?" He asked before sitting on the stool beside the table.

"Gracie." I told him finally letting a tear escape from my eye. "Gracie Shepherd."

"Are you Derek's daughter?" He asked.

"Yes sir." I answered.

"Ok, let's take a look at that knee of yours." He said before slowly bringing his hands over my knee. I jumped a bit at the pressure. "Does that hurt?" He asked. I nodded. He poked and prodded a bit more before coming to a conclusion. "I'm pretty sure it's dislocated and I'm a bit worried about the ligaments. I think we should take you to the hospital to have an x-ray and maybe an MRI."

I hated hospitals. "Can you take me to my parent's practice? My uncles do bones and I'm pretty sure they have an x-ray machine and an MRI machine." I answered.

"Sure it's Shepherdson Affinity right?" He asked.

"Yes sir." I answered.

"I'll take you there right now." He told me.

"Hang in there kid and don't worry, this does not jeopardize your chances at all." Coach Carter assured me placing his hand on my shoulder for a brief moment before leaving the room.

Thomas brought out some crutches. "Try not to put any weight on it ok?" He asked. I nodded and he helped me stand up with them. Together, we walked, well I guess I hobbled, out to his SUV. He helped me in the front seat and settled himself in the driver's. "Do you want to give your parents a call?" He asked.

"That's probably a good idea." I said taking out the iPhone that Derek and Addison had given me with the school supplies. I scrolled through the contacts stopping on Addison's name. I hit the call button and waited for an answer.

"Hello? Gracie?" She asked.

"Hey yeah it's me. Umm so I sort of messed up my knee at basketball and Thomas, the school trainer, is bringing me to the practice because I need either Michael or Matt to look at it." I decided to not elaborate on the fact that I was intentionally thrown to the ground.

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry. I'll make sure that one of them is ready when you get here. Are you just now leaving school?" She asked.

"Yeah we're just pulling out." I answered.

"Ok, I'll see you soon. Hang in there." She told me.

"Alright, see ya." I told her. I hung up the phone.

"You can turn on the radio if you want." Thomas suggested probably trying to distract me from the pain.

"Yeah ok." I said turning it onto my favorite station just in time to hear Thrift Shop, one of my favorite songs, come on.

I started rapping along to it probably causing Thomas to question my sanity. A few songs later, we pulled up in front of the practice's building. "Alright well here we are. Don't try to get out without my help. I don't want you getting more hurt." He told me.

"Ok." I agreed.

Thomas helped me out of the car and into the elevator. Before I knew it, the ding signaled we were on the right floor. Thomas helped me to the front desk where I was about to explain that I was Derek and Addison's daughter to the receptionist I had yet to meet but Addison ran up to me before I had a chance. "Gracie, sweetie, oh no baby, how bad does it hurt?" She asked as her eyes went from my face to my puffy knee. I shrugged before another tear escaped. "Ok, let's get you to your uncles." She told me.

I followed mom to one of the exam rooms where I saw not only Matt and Michael waiting, but Nancy, Kathleen, and Lizzie too. I assumed that Derek and Peter were probably in surgery. Matt lifted me up onto the exam table. He and Michael both examined my knee and at one point I couldn't hold in a scream. "Momma!" I yelled not thinking about the word.

Addison looked up at me and quickly moved to my side wrapping a loving arm around me. A few painful pokes later, and an x-ray later, it was determined my knee was just out of place and that nothing was torn. Michael and Matt began attempting to get it back in place. I couldn't hold in my tears anymore and tried desperately to get away from them only causing Nancy, Lizzie, Kathleen, and Addison holding me down trying to comfort me and calm me down. It took a few tries to get my knee properly aligned and once they did I was informed I needed a shot to get the swelling to go down. Ok, so Gracie + needles = disastrous and painful for all who attempt to involve the two in the same sentence. I thought about my different options. First would be to run for it. With a bad knee and a ton of adults in the room with fully capable bodies that was a highly unlikely recipe for success. Next would be to try and cry my way out of it. None of them could usually stand to see me upset but I know that they would look at this as a "in-the-long-run" type of thing and that wouldn't work. Third I could fake a seizure. It would delay things but Addison saw me take my pills this morning. And last, and the only successful option, would be to sit here and take it like a man. I decided that was my only choice and braced myself for the very large needle to go in my knee. Again, it took everyone in the room to hold me down so Michael could get the shot in my knee. Afterwards, it was sore but felt some better except it was really stiff. Michael and Matt got my knee into a knee brace and told me to use crutches until the stiffness wore off and promised I'd be ok in a few days and could be back on the court in no time.

Once my knee was taken care of, Addison decided to take me home for some much needed rest. I fell asleep as soon as I was in the car.

The week at school flew by and before I knew it, it was Friday. I made the Varsity starting team in basketball which I still find to be a miracle with all things considered. My knee was feeling some better but I still had to wear the stupid knee brace. I had started transitioning into calling Addison and Derek mom and dad since I had slipped when I was hurt. It was weird but growing on me. Our first game is today and so is Nana's birthday dinner. The whole family was going to come see me play and then we were going to go out to eat at an Italian restaurant. I was extraordinarily nervous for the game. It had been on my mind since I woke up this morning and probably caused me to fail my English quiz. Right now I'm in my last class of the day, Psychology. We are analyzing why people cut and do other self harm things. The teacher had it completely wrong, I hate to say, but she does. I mean I didn't cut for attention when I did. I cut to have something I could control in my life. I cut to feel pain and I never wanted anyone to know. I looked over to Chase, my, yes officially now, boyfriend. He smiled at me and I smiled back which caught the idea of our teacher, Ms. Briggs.

"Alright you two lovebirds, settle down." She said causing me to blush and the whole class to laugh.

I finally heard the bell to signal class was over. I couldn't decide if this was a good or a bad thing. I had t-minus 20 minutes to be in the gym dressed and ready to have our pre-game practice. Then I had precisely 45 minutes until game time. Chase came over to me giving me a hug. "Calm down, you'll be great." He told me.

"I sure hope so." I replied.

"I know so. You're amazing therefore no matter how you play, you'll be amazing." He said kissing my cheek.

After my brief encounter with the best boyfriend in the world, I made my way to the gym where I quickly got dressed into the light blue and red uniform and making sure my knee brace was on correctly. I ran into Bree who was literally dressing as she came down the stairs. I laughed "Bree I'm pretty sure that's dangerous." I informed her.

"What dressing on the stairs? No." She said sarcastically.

I laughed. "Only you." I went back down the stairs to talk to her figuring if we were both late, what's the worst that can happen.

"You excited?" She asked.

"I'm not sure excited is the word." I told her.

"Nervous?" She tried.

"Yeah that's more like it." I told her.

"Don't be. Tonight's an easy win. Just go out and have fun." She told me.

"My whole family is going to be here." I told her.

"So will mine, actually, so will most of everyone's. Basketball is huge here." She told me trying to ease m nerves but doing the opposite. She realized this and quickly added. "Sorry, that probably didn't help."

I laughed. "Not exactly."

She laughed. "We should go. Coach will have our heads if we're late."

"Alright." I answered.

We both made our way up the stairs and onto the court joining our team to practice. I looked into the stands and saw my family with, oh God, were those posters? Posters that said "Go Gracie"? And matching t-shirts? Oh God this can't be happening. I glared at Derek and Addison who both laughed.

Once warm ups were over we, the starting five, took our positions and the game began. I played hard and scored 15 points in the first half. We lead the other teams 45-15. I suddenly lost all the nerves as I realized it really was just a fun game. By the end of the game, I had scored a total of 30 of the 98 points we made. The game was over and my overly enthusiastic family was chanting my name.

After the post-game pep talk and mini celebration, I made my way up to my family. We were all going to stop at Kathleen's to get changed for dinner since it was on the way. I had many high-fives and hugs afterwards. Nana's was the best. She took me into her arms and said "That was an amazing birthday gift. Seeing my grandbaby dominate the court." I smiled as I kissed her cheek.

Once we all got to Kathleen's, I busted it up stairs so I could take a shower and get ready. Once I had perfected my hair into waterfall braid, I pulled on my mint green dress with the navy blue sash and matching navy blue coat. I fixed my makeup in silver to match my jewelry and ran down the stairs while pulling on mint green flats. I was the last one but it looked like I got there at the same time as Sadie. She and I had coordinated as she had a navy blue dress with a green sash and navy flats. We both looked at each other and laughed before getting in Derek's car. We sang as loud as possible to the Disney songs we had put on a playlist on her phone causing Addison and Derek to laugh. "Great game Gracie." Sadie told me. "I forgot to tell you."

"Thanks Sadie." I told her.

We finally reached the restaurant and we both quickly got out of the car and raced to the door. We were both very hyper and kept laughing over nothing. The family was giving us weird stares only causing us to laugh more. We had a private room in the back of the restaurant to hold us all in a place where it didn't matter how loud we were being. The tension between Addison and Nana was very noticeable but I decided to ignore it and try to enjoy my dinner. I ordered the fettuccini. Nana and Addison were avoiding eye contact and it was really making me wonder what the hell was going on so I decided to bring it up. "What's with the tension?" I asked while shoveling a fork full of food in my mouth. The room went so quiet you could hear a pen drop, literally. "What?" I asked looking around.

"It's nothing Gracie." Nana told me.

"You don't have to lie to her. She's a big girl, she can know the truth." Addison said.

"Then why don't you tell her?" Nana suggested.

"Fine I will. Gracie, your Nana doesn't like me." She said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah I gathered that much." I said causing Nancy to suppress a laugh.

"It's not that I don't like you it's that I don't think you're right for my Derek." Nana argued.

Now things got to a whole new level of awkward. "Because God forbid your son marry a wealthy woman because obviously she would be a snobby self-centered good for nothing person." Addison added.

"Is it so wrong that I wanted a woman that actually had to work to accomplish things for my son?" Nana argued.

It was one of those scenes in movies where your head kept turning to the person that was arguing waiting for one person to snap.

Derek decided to step in. "Mom, Addison and I are in love. That should be enough."

I literally spit out the water I had just sipped. They ARE in love. As in he didn't say WERE in love. They ARE in love? I looked around at my whole family all with their jaws dropped.

"And we're getting remarried." Addison added.

I looked at her and then at Derek and back to her. "And you thought that it wasn't important enough to mention before now?" I asked in astonishment. "I really don't get you two sometimes!" I yelled getting up and stomping to the bathroom. I was happy but I mean I'm their kid. You'd think they'd tell me first or at least blab it out at Thanksgiving like normal people. I flung one of the stall doors open and sat down on the toilet crying. I mean I shouldn't be crying because like I should be happy be really? This wasn't how I wanted to find out. I heard a knock on the stall door.

"Gracie?" I heard Addison ask.

"Go away!" I yelled.

"Gracie I'm sorry. We should have told you first it just came out of my mouth. I promise we did plan to tell you first."

"Go away!" I yelled again.

"Gracie come on. I know you're mad but please, at least talk to me." She begged.

"No! Go away!"

"Fine but you'll have to come out eventually." She gave up and I heard the bathroom door open again.

I sat on the toilet just waiting for the next family member to try and console me. I was right as I heard another knock on the stall door. "Gracie, it's time to go sweetie." Kathleen told me.

I unlocked the stall door and got up. "I'm not going home with them." I pouted like a little girl.

"Ok, you can come home with me if you want but you know, you will have to forgive them." She told me.

"Not for now." I informed her.

"You know, sometimes, you are too smart for your age." She told me.

We went back to Kathleen's house and I immediately changed into some of her sweatpants and one of Michael's t-shirts. I was very tired and ready for bed. I crawled into one of the guest beds and closed my eyes just wanting this day to be over.

A week has passed since the big announcement and I must say, the idea is growing on me. I'm still giving them the silent treatment though only talking to them through Nancy or Peter. Last night, we won one of the biggest games of the season so it was only natural to stay up all night partying. I'm really regretting it now though because I have a huge geometry test that counts for 40 percent of my final grade and I'm more than likely going to fail. I have two options, fail and not pass geometry which would piss off Derek and Addison and probably cause me to be grounded for like the rest of my life, or cheat and pass and hope I don't get caught. I'm pretty good at cheating. I know how to do it without being caught. I'll probably feel bad for awhile but I mean I'll get over it. Luckily, I have the smartest kid in our grade right beside me so I will no doubt about it, pass.

"Alright kids, good luck, you may begin." The teacher told us.

I looked at my test and was quite glad to realize it was multiple choice, those were easiest to cheat on. I acted like I was working while the teacher had her eyes on me and then quickly glanced over just in time to copy the first page of the test's answers. I successfully copied all of the answers and turned in the test about five minutes after the smarty pants. I mean I had to at least try to not seem suspicious. I went on with my day and was very glad to have the day off of basketball practice and even more glad to see Peter waiting to pick me up instead of Derek or Addison. I Got in the car and smiled.

"Hey kid! How was your test?" He asked.

"It was pretty good." I lied. "Where's everyone?" I asked.

"Nancy took them all to the dentist." He answered.

"All of them?" I asked.

"Yeah it's easier to take them all at once instead of individually so it's just you and me for the afternoon." He told me.

"Sounds like fun." I told him.

"So, is there anything, besides shopping, that you want to do?"

I laughed at the fact he knew I'd say shopping if he didn't say that. "We could play some basketball at the house. I need to work on my 3 pointers."

"I don't know Gracie, I wouldn't want to beat you and make you cry." He said jokingly.

"In your dreams old man!" I argued causing us both to laugh.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with us both having a blast playing basketball. The cousins got home and joined in but Nancy told us that she would just be referee. The fun was short lived when Derek got back and looked extremely pissed off. "Gracie! In the house NOW!" He yelled. I looked around at my cousins who all looked just as confused as I did. I followed him in the house. "What the hell were you thinking?!" He yelled. That was the first time I had heard him cuss.

"What are you talking about?" I asked sounding sort of disrespectful. Nancy and Peter had made it inside and were watching us confused.

"Don't play dumb with me young lady and certainly don't get smart with me! I got a call from your geometry teacher today, congratulations you cheated off of the wrong copy of a test. You copied all the wrong answers down." He snapped.

"I can explain…" I tried.

"Shut your mouth! I don't want to hear it! You know what, just go to your room! I can't deal with you right now!"

"Fine!" I yelled running to my room slamming the door shut and collapsing on my bed. This was going to be a long day.

Crime 3: Cheating.


End file.
